Surrey, British Columbia – Sher Vancouver Board Member Annie Ohana is one of the Grand Marshals of the Vancouver Pride Parade which will see the return of the popular Sher Vancouver Pride of Bollywood VII float, as well as we are proud to announce that Sher Vancouver’s debut feature documentary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows, is an official selection at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and will have its British Columbia Premiere on Knowledge Network this Pride season. Last but not least, Sher Vancouver has introduced its official Pride t-shirt collection by celebrated local visual artist Jag Nagra.
ANNIE OHANA
Big congratulations to Sher Vancouver Board Member and Social Justice Educator Annie Ohana for being one of the amazing Grand Marshals of the 44th annual Vancouver Pride Parade on Sunday, July 31, 2022 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
“I am so honoured to be selected by the Vancouver Pride Society to help lead this wonderful parade. It’s all about the community coming together and supporting each other, including remembering the real heroes from our history, those who fought for our basic rights and protections for years, so that we can march in solidarity today, continue to liberate all Queer folx, and uphold and have the freedoms we have on these lands,” states Annie.
BOLLYWOOD DOES PRIDE One of the most anticipated floats in the annual Vancouver Pride Parade is back with a bang! The Sher Vancouver Pride of Bollywood VII float will be banging Bhangra, Bollywood, and fusion beats with dancers wearing colorful international costumes. The theme of the float this year is “Strength and Diversity” which is also Sher Vancouver’s motto. This motto was selected because South Asia is such a diverse, cultural, and colorful region of the world that the members of Sher Vancouver are proud to showcase in the spirit of unity, solidarity, and inclusiveness. This year’s Pride of Bollywood VII float will have a larger flat deck with more floor space for dancers. Thank you to Sher Vancouver members who generously donate their time, money, and support to ensure Sher Vancouver has fabulous representation in the annual Vancouver Pride Parade. “The Vancouver Pride Parade is a time for the South Asian and larger community to come out and celebrate and send a message that 2SLGBTQ+ people are not alone. There are thousands of 2SLGBTQ+ people and their allies in this city and on Pride, they are united as one,” says Sher Vancouver President Ash Brar. This is the first time since 2017 that Sher Vancouver will have a float in the Vancouver Pride Parade.
The float is dedicated to the memory of our late social coordinator, January Marie Lapuz, who passed away in September 2012. Sher Vancouver has released a special memorial website to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her passing in 2022. The website is designed by Sher Vancouver’s in-house graphic designer Jaskamal Singh.
Check out: https://januaryfilm.com/
KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
Vinay Giridhar’s award-winning debut feature documentary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows, will be having its British Columbia Premiere on Knowledge Network on
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 10:30 pm PST and
Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 1:30 am PST
Followed by unlimited streaming on all Knowledge Streaming Platforms.
Streaming Link: https://www.knowledge.ca/program/emergence-out-shadows
The television broadcast and streaming version is the 59-minute broadcast cut.
VANCOUVER QUEER FILM FESTIVAL
Emergence: Out of the Shadows is also screening on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 7 pm at the York Theatre in Vancouver as part of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. The director Vinay Giridhar and Producer Alex Sangha and cast including Jag Nagra will be in attendance.
Thank you to the Indian Summer Festival for being a community partner of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival to present Emergence: Out of the Shadows
Get your tickets https://outonscreen.com/vqff-event/emergence-out-of-the-shadows/
“Thank you to Knowledge Network and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival for selecting my first documentary and helping it reach a broad audience in British Columbia. We made the film to educate our community and save lives. I want no other gay youth, like Kayden in Emergence: Out of the Shadows, to be disowned for who they are,” states Vinay.
OFFICIAL TRAILER
The official trailer is approaching 19K views!
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
NEW ONE MINUTE CLIPS FROM THE DOCUMENTARY
MEET JAG
MEET AMAR
MEET KAYDEN
SYNOPSIS
For Kayden, Jag, and Amar, awakening to and expressing their sexuality within conservative South Asian families was a lonely and terrifying experience. Denial, shame and despair haunted their youths, even threatening their lives. Yet, they’ve emerged. In the gripping feature documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows, the disparate journeys of Kayden, Jag and Amar candidly converge around a shared sense of compassion and healing as they bravely convey their often heart-wrenching stories. Confronted with tradition and taboo in their Punjabi Sikh cultures, resisting silence, Jag’s parents and Amar’s mother choose love over rejection, offering courage and inspiration to individuals and communities struggling with acceptance. Tender, thoughtful and teary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows asserts a potent and transformative voice in support of marginalized queer youth and their families.
SHER VANCOUVER PRIDE T-SHIRT COLLECTION BY JAG NAGRA
Sher Vancouver introduced three new beautiful t-shirt designs today as part of its official collection created by celebrated local visual artist Jag Nagra.
The three t-shirts are available for sale on Jag Nagra's official website:
Sher Vancouver Pride T-Shirts
Just in time for Vancouver Pride 2022, Sher Vancouver is proud to launch the “Pyar is Pyar” t-shirt. “Pyar is Pyar" is a play on Love is Love in Punjabi, Hindi, and English,” states Jag Nagra (see image attached).
Partial proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts will be donated to the Sher Vancouver January Marie Lapuz Youth Leadership Award. January was the Social Coordinator of Sher Vancouver who tragically passed away in New Westminster in September 2012. 2022 is the 10th anniversary of her passing.
“There has always been such a high demand for Jag Nagra’s artwork and t-shirts by members of Sher Vancouver. We are now making the t-shirts available to the community-at-large and the world for a good cause, states Sher Vancouver Founder Alex Sangha.
“I am very passionate about supporting the BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ community. I have been working with Sher Vancouver since their founding nearly 15 years ago and it’s truly an honor to be asked to create this artwork and designs,” states Jag Nagra.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Alex Sangha
Founder of Sher Vancouver
Producer of Emergence: Out of the Shadows
Annie Ohana
Grand Marshal of the Vancouver Pride Parade
Sher Vancouver Board of Directors
Emergence Outreach Team
Jag Nagra
Visual Artist
Sher Vancouver Graphic Designer